Interview: Former Apple CEO and Obi Mobiles founder John Sculley

Annie Bricker |
Oct. 8, 2014

Sculley talked about Obi's role in the smartphone market and the massive changes marketing has seen since his start in the 1970s.

Will Obi ever look to target a higher-end market or will Obi always be an affordable line of devices? We absolutely have no plans to target a higher-end market. Obi will always remain affordable. We always want to target the youth market. We want to be the complement to what Apple does. Apple is at the high-end and sells to those that can afford it. We are in an affordable price range and we target the youth.

Do you think that may translate into Obi becoming the "training wheels" for an Apple product? As your target audience ages, do you think they will move on to the higher-end option? No, we don't think of ourselves that way. We believe that Obi truly creates a whole new category in the smartphone landscape. Our customers are young and largely from emerging markets, and that audience will always be there, and seeking a well-designed, affordable product.